Jazz Spectrum - Best of 2012

Best of 2012

Sometimes I imagine jazz musicians as a flock of scavengers in reverse, flying over the whole vast history of the music to sort among its many diverse bodies and dispensing new life to work once thought dead. A couple of decades ago, Gary Giddins used the phrase “neo-classical eclecticism” to describe the then-current mood of jazz. That was apt then, and remains so: so much is going on in the music these days that its seems as linear as a Mobius Strip. And we all remember how cool that was to discovery. Here are 50 releases from the year – the odds are excellent that you’ll find some things to surprise and engage you. (* denotes a special favorite.)